Farmington Hills Will Contest Lawyer
Your loved one just passed away, and you’ve seen a copy of the will. Reading through it set off alarm bells in your head. You know something’s wrong, but what do you do if you want to contest the will? A probate litigation attorney in Farmington Hills at Head Murphy Law handles will contests as part of broader probate litigation, including disputes over validity, fiduciary conduct, and estate administration.
Call the Farmington Hills probate litigation lawyers of Head Murphy Law. When you hire our firm, you don’t just hire an attorney—you hire the whole team. We believe in collaboration and use teamwork to seek possible results for our clients. You may not want to call a lawyer, but there’s a good chance you need one. Let us show you the difference that a compassionate law firm can make to your will contest case when you contact us for your initial consultation.
A will contest is a legal challenge to a will’s validity. An interested party asks the court to invalidate the will and distribute the deceased’s assets differently from the way the will describes. People who thought they were getting money in the will, or who thought they were getting more than they did, might initiate a will contest. Just wanting to challenge the will doesn’t give a person standing to do so. Only specific parties have that right.
You must have “standing” to challenge a will in Michigan. Standing is the legal right to challenge the will, and whether you have standing depends on your ability to show that you have a direct financial interest in the outcome of the estate’s distribution. You could have standing to contest the will if you were:
If you wish to contest a will in Farmington Hills, call our law firm for a consultation with one of our attorneys about whether you have standing.
Not only must you have standing to contest a will, but you must also have “grounds.” Grounds are legal reasons for contesting the will’s validity. You will need a lawyer from a reputable law firm to help you contest the will. You may believe you have reason to contest it, but without evidence, your case won’t succeed. An attorney will know what evidence is needed to prove your case.
You could base your will contest on these grounds:
The person writing the will, the testator, must have the mental capacity to execute a will. They must:
You could file a will contest based on this ground if you believe someone else exerted undue influence over the testator. Undue influence is more common in cases where the testator was elderly when they wrote the will. The person exerting the undue influence would benefit from the new will. People who might be in a position to exert this influence include close family members or caregivers. If the person isolated the testator from family members, this could be a valid ground.
If you believe the testator was tricked into signing the will or thought they were signing an altogether different document, you might file on this ground. You could file based on forgery if you can prove that someone else created the will under the testator’s name. You’ll need a handwriting expert who can testify that the signature was a forgery.
You can file a will contest if the will wasn’t executed properly. In Michigan, that means the testator must have testamentary capacity, and the will must be written, either by hand or typed. At least two witnesses must observe the testator signing the will, and the witnesses must also sign. The will must clearly express the testator’s intent. If you believe any of these elements is missing, you could contest the will.
Two or more wills that both appear to be genuine are sufficient reason to file a will contest. You and your attorney will need to find evidence that shows which is the correct will, and the court will decide.
If you have reason to believe that the will was revoked and you can show proof that it was, you can file a will contest on that basis.
A formal order of testacy in Michigan is a legal proceeding initiated by filing a petition with the court. This petition may request the probate of a will or the appointment of a personal representative. You have 21 days from the date the formal order of testacy is filed to contest the will.
If the will has been accepted for probate, you have six months to file. An experienced will contest lawyer from our law firm can advise you which deadline applies in your situation.
When you file a will contest, the process will unfold this way:
In Oakland County, will contests are handled through the Oakland County Probate Court.
The court can uphold the will, invalidate the will, or declare that parts of it are valid. If they validate the will, the estate will be distributed as specified in the will. An invalidated will is no longer effective, and the prior will or laws of intestate succession will determine how the assets are distributed. When the court determines that parts of the will are invalid, the remaining effective provisions will be used to distribute the assets.
In some cases, it might be possible to settle a will dispute outside of court. The parties can attempt to negotiate on their own, which can be difficult if emotions run high.
Mediation is another alternative. The court may order mediation, or it can be voluntary. An unbiased third party, the mediator, will help the parties find common ground, which can lead to a satisfactory resolution. Mediation is likely to be less expensive and less time-consuming than litigation.
Do you believe there is something wrong with your loved one’s will? If so, you can contest it, although this is not a fight you should enter into on your own. You need an experienced probate litigation lawyer from Head Murphy Law to represent you and build a strong will contest case.
The lawyers of our law firm focus entirely on our clients and their needs. We’ll treat you like an individual, not just another case number, because we want to create long-standing relationships. Find out how we can use our core values of empathy, integrity, responsiveness, and determination for you when you contact our law firm today for a consultation.
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